Jenkins, the director of “The Underground Railroad,” told IndieWire this month that while he is “most creatively proud” of the series, “it’s probably going to end up being one of the least seen” of his projects. in May, reaching 18 times more demand than the average show in the U.S., but interest has since abated, according to Parrot Analytics. The show had a respectable debut, ranking as the 107th most in-demand series in the U.S. While it was critically acclaimed, industry insiders acknowledged “The Underground Railroad,” with its searing depictions of the brutalities of slavery, might have been a tough sell in a pandemic year when viewers were craving lighter fare. It also received nominations for two TV movies, “Sylvie’s Love” and “Uncle Frank.” It also must deliver on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ desire to create a “Game of Thrones-'size blockbuster that dominates the cultural conversation.Īmazon had two original programs vying for this year’s Emmys: “The Boys,” a popular and irreverent take on superhero franchises from writer-producer Eric Kripke (“Supernatural”) and Barry Jenkins’ “The Underground Railroad,” based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The decade-old studio, which spends $8 billion a year on programming, has been under pressure to build a library of shows - such as “Jack Ryan,” based on the Tom Clancy character - that please mainstream Amazon Prime retail customers and international audiences as much as the art-house crowd. We remain focused on bringing quality, award-worthy film and television content to our diverse global audience.” In one of the industry’s most challenging and competitive years, it’s all the more gratifying. the barometer for what’s really good content.”Īmazon declined to provide executives for this story but, in a statement, studio spokesman Cory Shields said: “Being nominated is a great honor and a true acknowledgement by our peers for delivering creative at the highest level.

“Awards in themselves are significant,” said Larry Adams, chief executive at LVA, a New York-based marketing agency. Awards also can provide a competitive edge by enticing top Hollywood producers and writers to bring their prestige projects - ensuring additional hits for years to come. The gold statuettes are marketing gems, enabling a video service to tout their high-quality projects to attract more subscribers.

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